MOSCOW, 15 June 2022. Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) presents the findings of a monitoring study on Russian consumer and credit behavior and attitudes towards bank deposits.

Attitudes towards bank deposits have improved over the recent year. In May 2021, most of Russians said that it was better to take out spare money from the bank (44%); they were opposed by 37% of respondents. Today 43% say that keeping money in banks is better; a third of respondents think that taking deposits from banks is better (33%).

Trust in Bank Deposit Index has not dropped below 50 p. since early 2022 except for the February value (41 p.). It hit 54 p. in May this year (a seven-point increase compared to 47 p. in May 2021).

The share of those who support savings strategy has been stable; considerable changes in saving strategy are only recorded in comparison with 2020. In May 2022, two-thirds of Russians said that a better strategy would be to spend as little as possible and to save up for the future as much as possible (63%; 62% in May 2021; 81% in May 2020). One quarter of respondents consider that spending the salary and pension as quickly as possible would be more practical (24%; 26% 2021; 12% in May 2020).  

Consequently, Savings Behavior Index amounted to 66 p., which, on the whole, corresponds to the previous May values, excepting 2020 with 78 p.

Russians are pessimistic about taking loans. Today most of them do not consider bank loans (81%; 70% in May 2021). Six percent of respondents think that today is a good time for getting loans; this number was twice as higher in January 2022 (12%).

Credit Trust Index was at 20 p. in May. This indicator was at 25-28 p. last year and showed a slight decrease in early 2022 (24 p. in January), hitting a low in March and April — 18 p.

Russians are unlikely to consider that the present time is favorable for large purchases: 70% do not think today is an appropriate time for that (+16 p. compared to May 2021). Thirteen percent of respondents oppose them; this share is twice as lower compared to May 2021 (26%).  

Over the recent three months Consumer Trust Index has been at record low levels (27 p. in May 2022; 26 p. in March and April 2022). Today the index is close to the pandemic May 2020 (31 p.); 66% of Russians think that today is not a right time to buy anything.

Consumer Trust Index shows how favorable Russians think the present time is for large purchases. Index is based on the question “Is now a good or bad time to make large purchases?”  “Likely good” corresponds to the coefficient 0.9; “Likely bad” – 0.1; “Don’t know” – 0.5. Index is measured in points and can vary between 10 and 90. The higher the index value, the more favorable Russians think the present time is for large purchases.

Credit Trust Index shows how favorable Russians think the present time is for getting loans. Index is based on the question “Is now a good or bad time to get loans?” “Likely good” corresponds to the coefficient 0.9; “Likely bad” – 0.1; “Don‘t know” – 0.5. Index is measured in points and can vary between 10 and 90. The higher the index value, the more favorable Russians think the present time is for getting loans.

Trust in Bank Deposit Index shows how favorable Russians think the present time is for making deposits. Index is based on the question “Is now a good time to make a deposit in the bank or to take money out of your bank account”. “Now it’s better to put spare money into the bank account” corresponds to the coefficient 0.9; “Today, if you have money in a bank, it’s better to take it out” — 0.1; “Don’t know” — 0.5. Index is measured in points and can vary between 10 and 90. The higher the index value, the more favorable Russians think the present time is for making deposits. 

Savings Behavior Index shows how favorable Russians think the present time is for making savings. Index is based on the question “Is now a good time to save up or to spend?” “Today it’s better to spend as little as possible and save up as much as possible for the future” corresponds to the coefficient 0.9 ; “Today it’s better to spend the salary or pension on necessary purchases as soon as possible and to invest savings into something" — 0.1; “Don’t know”- 0.5. Index is measured in points and can vary between 10 and 90. The higher the index value, the more favorable Russians think the present time is for keeping savings.  

VCIOM-Sputnik Russian nationwide telephone survey was conducted May 21, 2022. A total of 1,600 Russians aged 18 and over took part in the survey. Survey method: telephone interviews using a stratified random sample based on a complete list of Russian mobile phone numbers. The data were weighted according to social and demographic characteristics. The margin of error at a 95% confidence level does not exceed 2.5%. In addition to sampling error, minor changes to the wording of questions and different circumstances arising during the fieldwork can introduce bias into the survey.

May 21, 2022 survey key effectiveness indicators: cooperation rate (COOP1)* = 0.8507; minimum response rate (RR1)** = 0.0265; response rate (RR3)*** = 0.1054.

* The number of complete interviews divided by the sum of: а) complete interviews and b) non-interviews with eligible respondents.

** The number of complete interviews divided by the sum of: а) complete interviews, b) interrupted interviews after successful screening and c) all the telephone numbers where it is unknown whether the subscribers meet the selected criteria or not.

*** The number of complete interviews divided by the sum of: а) complete interviews, b) interrupted interviews after successful screening and c) all the telephone numbers with respect to the assessment of the percentage of eligible cases in the total number of cases of unknown eligibility.